Terrifying Images Show Thousands Of Spiders Trying To Escape NSW Flooding

Parts of New South Wales are buried under metres of severe flooding after a one in a 100 year storm battered the state.

While the experience is already terrifying for many, there has been a horrifying update that would no doubt make many people's skin crawl.

Thousands of spiders and other insects have been seen trying to make their way to higher ground to escape the water.

These creepy crawlies are usually able to hang on the ground without being noticed, however they're having to look looking for fresh digs now that their homes have become water logged.

One photo uploaded to Instagram shows a field in Kinchela Creek just south of Coffs Harbour literally littered with spiders.

Melanie Williams' home in Macksville, on the NSW Mid-North Coast was similarly bombarded with way more visible spiders than normal.

She's told the ABC: "That was enough to really freak me out, I had never seen anything like it before.

"I am an arachnophobe from way back so I hope they've gone back to wherever they came from. I occasionally see spiders around the place but never anything like that, it was just insane.

"As the water was rising, the letterbox was going under further and further and I could see all these little black things on there and I thought 'oh my God, they're spiders'.

"Then I looked at my neighbour's fence and almost had a heart attack. There were literally thousands of them."

Just when you thought catastrophic flooding wasn't bad enough, now people have to deal with this.

Melanie Williams

The rain isn't expected to get worse this week, however it is forecast to continue to drench parts of the state, which will only prolong the damage.

More than 18,000 people have been evacuated and the State Emergency Service has received nearly 10,000 calls for help.

The Australian Defence Force has been called in to help deal with the evacuations and the recovery effort.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: "It is an evolving situation, if we need their support we will ask for it, my suspicion is we will, given the extent of the recovery."

A natural disaster has been declared and the Insurance Council of Australia has formally acknowledged a catastrophe.

PA

This process will allow claims from affected people and businesses to be fast tracked.

The Premier added: "I just want to say to everybody across the state who is currently living in fear and anxiety - all of us are thinking of you. Some communities that were battered by the bushfires are now being battered by the floods and deep drought prior to that.

"I don't know any time in our state's history where we have had these extreme weather conditions in such quick succession in the middle of a pandemic.

"They are challenging times for New South Wales but we have also demonstrated our capacity to be resilient but I know for many people, they will feel like it is a breaking point. When you have been through three or four incidents which are life changing on top of each other, it can make you feel like you are at breaking point.

"Please know that we are thinking of you and getting support as much as we can."

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie